Light rail price set to drop after extension

Transport Reporter

A return concession ticket to travel the length of the light rail line will now cost $3.10, half the regular price. Photo: Quentin Jones

Half-price concession tickets will be offered on Sydney's light rail line for the first time when the line's extension from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill opens in March.

But students will not be able to travel for free on the line on the way to and from school - at least initially.

Under the fare structure for the extension of the light rail line, people travelling to the city from its furthest point at Dulwich Hill will not have to pay any more than people who currently use the line from Lilyfield.

The current maximum fares of $4.60 one way and $6.20 return will remain on the line, which will offer a new way of travelling through the inner west from Dulwich Hill through Lewisham and Leichhardt to Lilyfield.

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And the concession structure of the light rail line will finally be brought into line with other forms of transport in Sydney.

Privately owned before it was bought by the O'Farrell government in 2012, the tram line has never offered half-price fares for eligible concession holders.

But it will start to when the extension opens, likely to be some time in March, meaning fares will drop for existing concession holders who use the tram line. A return concession to travel the length of the line will drop from $4.60 to $3.10 - half the full price.

''The opening of the inner west light rail extension will see concession entitlements brought into line with buses, trains and ferries, which, for the first time, means students and all pensioners will be eligible for a concession fare on light rail,'' Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said.

''This continues the work that the O'Farrell government started in 2011 to integrate light rail into the wider public transport network, when we expanded MyMulti, pensioner excursion tickets and Family Funday Sunday tickets to cover light rail services.''

Fairfax Media previously reported on plans by the line's operator, Transdev, to open the Dulwich Hill extension in February. But those plans have since been pushed back and the minister has not given a date for the first tram to run.

Councils along the light rail route have been lobbying for the government to also include free student travel on the line. According to Ashfield Council, there are 22 primary schools within 800 metres of the tram line and several high schools, including Sydney College of the Arts at Callan Park, Fort Street High School and Canterbury Boys High School.

But there are no plans to allow free student travel on the line.

Ms Berejiklian said: ''I've asked Transport for NSW to examine whether it is feasible for [the School Student Transport Scheme] to apply to light rail.''